Andy Murray clinched his first victory since Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over home favourite Brandon Nakashima in the second round of the Citi Open in Washington.
Murray was pushed hard by the world number 70 but prevailed 7-6[5] 6-4 in two hours and 11 minutes to set up a third-round clash with top seed Taylor Fritz.
The three-time Grand Slam winner won 82% of points behind his first serve and beat away all six of Nakashima's break opportunities in a vintage display, as the American's seven aces counted for nought.
Neither played fashioned a single break point in a tight opening set, but a versatile Murray clawed his way back from a 5-2 deficit in the tie-breaker before Nakashima lost his serve straight away in the second set.
Several chances to level the match came and went for Nakashima, who let a 40-0 lead slip on Murray's serve in the fourth game, and the Briton saved one final break point before progressing on a sublime forehand winner.
Earlier in the day, Murray's compatriot Dan Evans recovered from a nightmarish start to get the better of Frenchman Gregorire Barrere, ending a seven-match losing streak on the ATP Tour in the process.
Evans - who had not won a top-level match since April's Barcelona Open - came through a three-set thriller 2-6 6-0 6-3 against Barrere, taking one hour and 54 minutes to claim a long-awaited success.
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The world number 30 won just a third of his points behind his first serve in the opening set as Barrere broke three times, but Evans was a man reborn in the second, posting a brilliant bagel and levelling the contest on a Barrere double fault.
Evans piled on the pressure as the third set progressed and squandered no fewer than seven break points, but the eighth time was the charm for the 33-year-old, who racked up the winners count to establish a 4-2 lead.
Barrere fired a trio of aces in the eighth game to keep the contest alive, but Evans responded in kind with three winners before setting up a third-round tie against Russia's Alexander Shevchenko with his fourth ace of the day.
However, Liam Broady did not fare so well, as the 29-year-old fell to a 4-6 2-6 defeat against Dutch 12th seed Tallon Griekspoor in one hour and 25 minutes.
Broady lost his serve straight off the bat and was forced to beat away another six break points in the first set, but Griekspoor gave little away, losing just four points on his own serve.
A similar story befell Broady in the second set, as Griekspoor immediately broke and offered the world number 125 few openings on serve, cruising into round three without facing a single break point.
Ben Knapton
